It began with a sudden rustle, followed by a shriek.
A flash of fur leapt from the underbrush, claws bared and teeth flashing. Liora was already in motion, her blade slicing upward with clean precision, striking the beast mid-air. The body landed with a thud, but more movement came from the right, then the left.
"They're trying to separate us!" Garth growled, swinging his great axe in a wide arc and cleaving through a lunging beast with practiced force.
"Tessa, tight to me!" Liora barked, positioning herself slightly in front of her.
"I've got your flank!" Nellie shouted, already dashing across the ground, two daggers flashing in a blur as she danced between two monsters, striking vital points with practiced precision.
The monsters, a pack of mutated forest stalkers, had surrounded them now. Their fur was mottled, and their eyes glowed faintly with unnatural aggression. Whatever had riled them wasn't natural.
Another beast lunged from the trees behind Garth, but he spun with a grunt, catching it mid-pounce and slamming it to the ground with the flat of his axe before finishing it.
Tessa, gripping her short sword with both hands, stayed close to Liora and delivered a swift, clean cut to a wounded creature trying to rise again, her movements shaky, but focused.
"Good, Tessa! Stay calm!" Liora said, ducking beneath a swipe and plunging her blade into the beast's ribs.
Within moments, the forest clearing was scattered with bodies, and only the rustling leaves and panting breaths remained. The last hound collapsed at Nellie's feet, and she kicked it away with a sigh.
"Too many for a regular patrol," she muttered, wiping blood from her cheek. "That's not normal."
"They weren't hunting," Garth said, standing still in the center of the carnage, his voice heavy. "They were herding. Pushing us inward."
Liora stiffened. "A trap?"
Before anyone could answer,
A thunderous, bone-shaking roar split the forest.
The trees groaned. Birds scattered. The ground trembled slightly beneath their feet.
It wasn't close… but it wasn't far either.
All four froze, eyes turning toward the sound. Whatever made that noise, it was massive.
Nellie broke the silence. "Tell me that was thunder."
Garth shook his head. "That wasn't thunder."
Liora's grip tightened on her blade. "Something deeper in… something bad."
Tessa swallowed hard. "Do we… go toward it?"
Garth looked at the others, then nodded grimly. "We have to. Whatever that was, it's the reason the forest is boiling over. If we don't stop it now… it might reach the village next."
Nellie let out a long breath. "Then we go. But we move smart. No more surprises."
Liora looked once more toward the dark woods ahead, the trees tighter, shadows deeper.
Aria and Mia were waiting at home. And if they didn't stop what was coming, no home would be safe.